The Moments Before
by modernlifehistorian
Summary: Those moments before they get into the Lifeboat for the trip that will change everything. Companion for what we didn't see at the end of the Finale. SPOILERS.


This fic was brought to you by my ghost as I passed away the moment future Lyatt stepped out of the lifeboat looking like they'd spent the last five years kicking Rittenhouse ass and taking zero shit. I'm so dead. I need a season 3. But while we wait for renewal please enjoy this little fic.

* * *

They've walked through this damn hatch so many times that Lucy has to resist the urge to duck every time she goes through a normal door, but this time as she grabs onto the strap to enter the Lifeboat, she hesitates. It's only a second before she feels a warm hand runs across her lower back.

"Luce?" Wyatt asks from behind her. "You okay?" She straightens back up and glances down the steps to her soldier, reaching out to run a hand through his hair.

"It's just… I know what she's going through right now, Wyatt," she explains, scratching at his scalp just a little. "She thinks she's lost everything. She feels completely hopeless. I remember the feeling." He grasps her hand and brings it to his lips.

"Well… I hope you didn't feel... _completely_ hopeless," he smirks, and a chuckle escapes her.

"No," she agrees. "Some reckless soldier had just told me he loved me, so no not _completely_ hopeless." He tugs gently on her hand, encouraging her down onto his step. She complies and wraps an arm around his back, the other messing with his beard. Damn, she really loves that beard.

"I meant it then as much as I mean it now," he whispers, staring in to her cognac eyes, but she just gives his a look of skepticism and quirks an eyebrow. "Okay, okay, maybe I mean it a littlemore now, but that's onlybecause through all these years, it's done nothing but grow, babydoll." Her face softens and she leans forward to press her lips to his. "So don't worry yourself sick like you always feel the need to do. We're going to get Rufus back, we're going to make everything right." She nods and wraps herself up in his arms. It's a little awkward with the shotgun strapped to her back, but he still holds her just as tight as ever.

"I love you, Wyatt," she whispers into his neck. "And she's about to go on that journey herself, and I just… I don't want to mess any of that up." He pulls back from her with a smile much bigger than she expected to see while still keeping a gently hand on the back of her neck.

"There are a lot of things we can screw up," he explains, wiping a stray hair out of her eyes and running his thumb across her cheek. She loves the way his calloused skin feels against hers. "But you and me… there's nothing that's going to change that." He pulls her in for one more quick kiss before she takes a step up toward the Lifeboat.

"Well then…" she says, straightening herself up. "Let's go do what we do best and fix the past." He beams up at her for just a moment, thinking about how damn lucky he is to belong to this badass historian. The Wyatt he's about to meet has no idea what a wild ride he's in for.

"Yes, ma'am," he quips, earning a mocking glare from Lucy before she turns and ducks into the Lifeboat.

"Who's flying today, Soldier?" She asks as he follows her through. "I mean, objectively I'm the better pilot, but still…" She has to bite the inside of her cheek to try and keep a straight face. He just barks out a laugh.

"I don't know who told you that one, Luce, but they were just trying to inflate your ego," he teases, grabbing her by the waist.

"I'm sorry was I the one who tried to land us in 1918 Chicago, and ended up landing _inside_ Wrigley Stadium?" She jabs back, running her hands down his arms.

"Okay," he gruffs. "You have to let that one go."

"I mean we did prevent the Black Sox Scandal, but now people still believe the Cubs' stadium made contact with aliens."

"Alright, alright," he laughs, wrapping his arms all the way around her. "Let's settle this like normal, then."

"Let's," she says with a wry smile. She slips her arms beneath his and lets her hand drift into his back pockets; his eyes darken as she gives his ass a quick squeeze before pulling out the quarter he always keeps there.

"Call it," she tells him before flipping it into the air between them.

"Tails," he calls as it falls back into her palm. She flips it over onto the back of her hand.

"Heads!" she shouts victoriously, removing herself from his embrace. "Strap in, sweetheart. It's time to fly." She takes her seat in the pilot chair, but before she can begin the take off protocol, he spins her chair around, kneeling in front of her.

"Gotta make sure you're strapped in first," he smiles, his face much softer than it was seconds ago, and her heart flutters. Nearly a decade of this, and he's never failed to secure the belts around her before they travel. He's well aware she can do it by herself, but she's become so self-sufficient in defending herself during their trips that for Wyatt these excessive belts have become one of the only ways he still feels like he's protecting her, to ensure that he's keeping her safe. And she loves it, she really does. In every other way, Wyatt is as rough and rugged as any soldier, but in these moments he's so soft, touching her like she's some kind of angel he has the honor to love.

He gives the straps one last tug before standing back up.

"Are you sure they're tight enough?" She laughs, squirming beneath them to get his attention. He runs a hand across his beard and rakes his gaze over her.

His own warrior goddess.

"Can't hurt to check," he answers, leaning forward to give them one last sharp tug. Sometimes he's soft, sometimes he's rough. She likes it both way. "Safe and secure, captain," he tells her before taking his own seat. "Now let's go save Rufus." Lucy begins the takeoff procedures before echoing his sentiments. "Let's go save Rufus."

* * *

Review like our renewal depends on it :D


End file.
